Staffski would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the neighborhood volunteers and the volunteers from PNC Bank. We had a nice sized group here in Polish Hill at some extremely early hour to prepare the flower beds at 30th and Brereton St. for winter.

Do you know those lovely green vines that are spilling out of containers all over the city? Exactly like the ones that were loaded into the back of truckski. Well, at the root of all of those vines are potatoes! Yum! These are a variety of sweet potato. Josie Ramsey, Polish Hill’s Green Team leader, says that they are not as sweet as yams or what you would normally find in the grocery store.

While we were prepping the gardens for winter, we also harvested the sweet potatoes. The vines will be used as mulch in the Harmar St. garden. The potatoes themselves? Well, we have three big bags of harvested potatoes at the PHCA office. Stop by and pick some up before they’re gone. Guaranteed, they’re gonna go like hot potatoes!

We have been talking a lot lately about Permaculture and urban gardening. It must be in the air! The Post Gazette has an interview with  Nancy Gift,  a “weed scientist” and director of the Rachel Carson Institute at Chatham University. I’ve never heard the term weed scientist before, have you?Anyway, it appears that Ms. Gift has published a book on the subject of eating your lawn —

“I tolerate a lot of wood sorrel in my yard because it’s one of the greens my kids will eat,” said Ms. Gift, a weed scientist and director of the Rachel Carson Institute at Chatham University, where she is also an assistant professor of environmental studies. Wood sorrel’s clover-like leaves add a tart, lemony twist to her salads. Read the article

Of course, all of this is just an evil plot to get rid of all of the knotweed growing on Polish Hill. Don’t tear it up, eat it!